


Her home

by Rogercat



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin
Genre: Arianne Martell Week, Dorne, Family, Gen, Growing Up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:21:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27820663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rogercat/pseuds/Rogercat
Summary: Arianne and her homeland
Relationships: Arianne Martell & Doran Martell
Kudos: 6
Collections: Southern Renaissance (Dorne Renaissance)





	Her home

Arianne Nymeros Martell was born on a day that had just welcomed the dawn. She was the new heiress to Dorne, the next female ruler. No one found it strange that the son of Aria Martell, the currently ruling Princess, would be succeeded by a daughter, since it was impossible to predict the gender of a child while still inside the womb of the mother. 

“What a beautiful child you have given us, Mellario,” Doran told his wife fondly as he was allowed inside the birth chamber, once mother and daughter had been cleaned after the birth. 

“Yes. And I am very grateful that I am free from the pressure to give you a son in this first childbirth,” the future Princess Consort smiled at him, even if she was rather tired after spending one and a half days of labour. But she really meant that gratitude, for Mellario had heard many tales of how Westerosi lords and nobles often were obsessed with getting a male heir, instead of accepting that sometimes, a heiress was better than no child at all. 

“Arianne is the firstborn, and she will rule Dorne after me.”

  
  


Not long after, the rest of the Martell family was coming to greet their new family member too. 

“Come, Doran, we will present your successor to the people together and then let her and Mellario rest,” Aria offered after letting her oldest son take back his newborn daughter in his arms. As such, the new future Princess was presented by her father for the people of Sunspear at the high of day, letting her be seen in the sun. 

~X~X~X~X~X~X 

_ Dorne.  _

Her birthright, the realm she would inherit from her beloved father when it was time for him to join her grandmother Aria in the afterlife. 

“I have so many previous ruling Princes and Princesses to learn from, their mistakes and what distinguishes their different reigns from each other.” 

Arianne knew that she would be the fourth ruling Princess since the marriage of Maron Martell and Daenerys Targaryen. Their firstborn, a son named Mahaad in true Martell fashion to not let any Targaryen or Valyrian names become custom in the family tree, had succeeded his father at the age of 22 years in 210 A.C when Maron had died of tuberculosis, but his own son had died before Mahaad and this led to his oldest granddaughter Aminah, Arianne's own great-grandmother, succeeding him. 

“A heiress is no shame here in Dorne, not with the Rhoynar affecting our culture in such a matter even today. Without Nymeria, I would most likely have lost the rulership to Quentyn when he was born…” 

At the same time, Arianne was well aware from a young age that the people of Dorne would always be affected by the decisions made by the ruler. That was exactly what happened when poor aunt Elia, cousin Rhaenys and Aegon had been held as hostages by Aerys in order to make Dorne fight for him against the rebels. Half of the ten thousand Dornishmen had never come back to their homeland, just like her great-uncle Lewyn Martell. 

And the Sacking of the capital…

No one doubted what would have been the fate of aunt Elia and her cousins, if the soldiers of Tywin Lannister had caught them. Now, their official fate was unknown for all of Westeros, yet in Dorne people prayed that the missing daughter of House Martell and her two royal offspring would be alright. And Arianne was one of them. She wanted her missing family members to be here in Dorne, so she could help her father to protect them from the Lannisters and Baratheons. 

“Father will trust me to lead Dorne to the best of my ability when it is time for me to take over, and I will make him proud.” 

It would hopefully still be many years before Arianne took over the seat of her father, but she would soon start helping him in caring for Dorne and their people at his side. Since Doran refused the secret marriage pact that could tie her to Viserys Targaryen, she did not have to worry about Quentyn being the actual heir. Her brother was happy to hopefully become a knight as an adult, and become an advisor to her when she ruled Dorne. 

**_Dorne._ **

Her inheritage, her homeland. Arianne knew what her future would be from birth, and refused to stray from that path. 


End file.
